Section 1. Amend Chapter 116, Volume 61, Laws of Delaware by adding a new section thereto to read as follows:

"Section 97. Section 1 of this Act provides an appropriation of $167,411 for Learning Disabilities - Tuition under (95-01-003) Educational Contingency. The Department of Public Instruction shall administer this appropriation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1978, in accordance with the following:

'The State Board of Education shall provide through rules and regulations for the establishment of evaluation and placement committees in the school districts of the State, the purpose of which shall be to evaluate each potential candidate for enrollment in a class in the category known as 'learning disabilities' and to recommend appropriate placement to the parents or legal guardian of the potential candidate and to the superintendent of the school district. Each evaluation and placement committee shall contain a psychologist, psychiatrist or both licensed to practice in this State. No state expenditure for classes in the category known as 'learning disability' shall be authorized unless the qualifications of the teacher and the instructional program shall have been approved by the State Board of Education. In any instance in which such an evaluation and placement committee certifies that a particular child cannot be adequately served in any of the units described in this section for handicapped children, including the unit described by the term "learning disabilities" or where such a unit for learning disabilities is not available in the district of residence or a district within reasonable transportation distance of the home of the child, then the committee may recommend to the parents or legal guardian of the child and to the superintendent of the district that the child be authorized to attend a specialized public or private school in this State or in another State of the United States and that the district of residence be authorized to include in the budget of that district a separate amount to be drawn from state funds, which may be used to cover the cost of tuition, transportation and housing for such a specialized assignment. Such amounts may be used up to but not in excess of an amount equal to this State's average expenditure per pupil as expended from state funds in the prior year. Any amount so authorized and allocated in the budget of the school district shall not be counted against the allocation otherwise granted to that district for other unit purposes, nor shall the district count the student in the certified count by which units are determined for the school district. When the timing of a pupil evaluation and placement does not coincide with the timing of the budget presentation, then the amounts shall be provided from the Educational Contingency Fund.'"

Section 2. Section 1 of this Act authorizes the State Board of Education to approve learning disability private placements during the school year 1977-1978. This authorization will remain in effect until the implementation on July 1, 1978 of the provisions of Chapter 190, Volume 61, Laws of Delaware, originally designated Senate Bill No. 353 of the 129th General Assembly. In the event that any monies have, prior to the enactment of this Act, been disbursed for transportation costs to otherwise qualified private placements under this Act, such monies shall be deducted from the tuition payment granted under Section 1 of this Act.